The Mushroom, the Frog, and the Rainbow of Desire: A Participatory-Psychedelic Spiritual Emergence
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2019 DOI: 10.24972/ijts.2019.38.2.182 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | The author |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Key points | Argues that a frightening brush with death following psilocybin ingestion can be interpreted as a shamanic initiation rather than a psychotic episode, drawing on transpersonal theory to reframe the experience as a death-rebirth process and evolution of consciousness. |
Abstract
This article will explore a spiritual emergency through a myth or fairy tale that emerged at the same time I had a frightening brush with death. Two days before the accident I had ingested psilocybin mushrooms. Michael Washburn, among other transpersonal theorists, will be used to interpret, amplify and re-frame this potential ‘psychotic episode’ with ‘borderline features’ into something more, perhaps, on the threshold of a shamanic initiation in a liminal state. The mythic sequence in my story anticipates the death-rebirth (perinatal pattern) and evolution of consciousness in the LSD research of Stanislav Grof; an evolution given epic participatory elucidation by Richard Tarnas; and an evolution consummated in the erotic desire for nature found in the panpsychism of Freya Mathews.